Written Answers Thursday 27 March 2008

Scottish Executive

Agriculture

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has attempted to assess the total value of single farm payment reductions suffered by farmers and crofters as a result of having reduced livestock numbers on their land during all, or part of, the 2000 to 2002 reference period to comply with the terms of their land management agreements with Scottish Natural Heritage.

Michael Russell: No such assessment has been undertaken, nor would such an assessment be meaningful in terms of the Single Farm Payment Scheme (SFPS). Those farmers and crofters who participate in the scheme and also participated in management agreements run by SNH during the period 2000 to 2002, had their entitlement to support calculated in the same way as other farmers and crofters. In essence, Scottish ministers were only allowed to include in these calculations production units (animals or areas) that met all relevant scheme conditions during the reference period. There was no discretion within the scheme to address cases that were founded on hypothetical or notional levels of production i.e. Scottish ministers could not recognise claims where a producer had an expectation of support based on what has been called "ghost" animals. This was the situation throughout the UK. I can appreciate that producers in this situation have a perception of injustice but the reality is that as far as SFPS is concerned, they are being treated in exactly the same way as other producers in terms of the way their entitlements have been calculated.

Alcohol Misuse

Alex Johnstone (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what proposals it has to raise awareness among young people of the adverse health effects of the misuse of cheap alcohol.

Shona Robison: We will ensure, through the Curriculum for Excellence , that all young people are aware of the health implications of the use and abuse of alcohol. Our aim is to enable all Scotland’s young people to become confident individuals and responsible citizens.

  In addition, we support the Choices for Life initiative which tackles underage drinking, smoking and illegal drugs by promoting healthy lifestyle choices among young people. Events for primary 7 pupils will take place across Scotland during May.

Building Standards

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to implement the recommendations of the Sullivan Report following the integration of the Scottish Building Standards Agency within the Executive.

Stewart Stevenson: The work programme commenced by the Scottish Building Standards Agency will continue to be taken forward by Scottish building standards, a part of the directorate for the built environment. Working party meetings with the industry have already begun to consider recommendations relating to both the compliance issues and the proposed changes to the energy standards of the building regulations. Research is also being undertaken to consider the financial implications of the recommendations.

Carers

Bob Doris (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made in providing payments to kinship carers.

Fiona Hyslop: The concordat agreement between local authorities and the Scottish Government contained a commitment to pay allowances to kinship carers of looked after children.

  Funding for the payment of allowances to approved kinship carers of looked-after children has been incorporated into the total local government settlement from April 2008.

Carers

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether funding to enable local authorities to provide payments to kinship carers has been included in the grant aided expenditure funding allocations for 2008-09.

Fiona Hyslop: Yes, funding for the payment of allowances to approved kinship carers of looked after children has been incorporated into the total local government settlement from 2008.

Deer Commission

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure that appropriate expertise is retained in deer management if it proceeds with its plans to abolish the Deer Commission for Scotland.

Michael Russell: I have recently met with the Chair and members of the Board of the Deer Commission for Scotland to discuss the proposals.

  We will seek to maintain business continuity in any approach to merging the functions of the Deer Commission for Scotland with Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH). We will involve the Board of the Deer Commission for Scotland, its staff and stakeholders in planning the merger if it goes ahead.

  There will be opportunities in the process to ensure that appropriate expertise is retained by representing deer issues in SNH’s governance structures, and we are keen to retain the skills and experience currently within the organisation.

Drug Misuse

Ken Macintosh (Eastwood) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it is planning to publish its drugs strategy.

Fergus Ewing: We will publish a programme of action to tackle drug misuse before the summer.

Education

Christina McKelvie (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how it intends to ensure that vulnerable children are supported in the school system.

Maureen Watt: The Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004, which commenced in November 2005, aims to ensure that the additional support needs of all children and young people are addressed. Education authorities are required to identify, meet and keep under review the additional support needs of all pupils, for whom they are responsible.

  The concordat that we have signed with COSLA is founded on improving educational outcomes and providing more choices and more chances for all children and young people, including the most vulnerable. In addition, we have recently launched a policy statement, jointly with COSLA, that will set out an approach to early intervention across education, health and other services.

Food

Tricia Marwick (Central Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how it is encouraging people to eat Scottish produce.

Richard Lochhead: Food is about much more than what we put on our plates – it is about our industry, our environment, our economy and its effect on our health. It is our role to bring together all of these issues in a coherent way. This is why I launched the national discussion to help develop the first-ever food policy for Scotland. Part of this discussion is about encouraging people to think about where their food comes from and how far it has travelled.

Food

Stuart McMillan (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures are being taken to support farmers and other food producers in relation to food security.

Richard Lochhead: Our aim is to ensure that Scotland has a dynamic and sustainable agriculture and fisheries industry, together with a strong processing sector, and that our measures support this.

Justice

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has received from the Ethnic Minorities Law Centre regarding funding.

Kenny MacAskill: Kathleen Bolt, senior solicitor at the Ethnic Minorities Law Centre, wrote to me on 31 January 2008, and again on 11 February 2008, about a number of issues including an application for funding made to the City of Edinburgh Council.

Justice

Duncan McNeil (Greenock and Inverclyde) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will introduce mandatory custodial sentences for the unlawful possession of a knife or other bladed weapon.

Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Parliament has shown itself willing to tackle the "booze and blade culture". We will send out a clear message to those who think it is acceptable or cool to carry a knife that it's not.

  Educating our young people, giving them more to do, and preventing them carrying a weapon are fundamental if we want to see reduced levels of knife crime. But we will not be soft. Tough enforcement by our police forces will continue to be a key part of our efforts.

  We are not closed to considering further legislative action, but believe judges are best placed to make decisions about the most appropriate sentence, taking into account in such cases all the factors they think are relevant.

Justice

Christopher Harvie (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what timeframe is envisioned for a Reciprocal Enforcement of Maintenance Order between Scotland and the government of the island of Jersey to come into effect.

Kenny MacAskill: Arrangements to enable reciprocal maintenance arrangements between Jersey and Scotland, by designating Jersey as a reciprocating country for the purposes of the Maintenance Orders (Reciprocal Enforcement) Act 1972, are at an advanced stage. A Designation Order under the 1972 act, which will apply to the whole of the United Kingdom including Scotland, is in the course of being finalised and it is hoped that this will come into force in May.

Licensing

Kenneth Gibson (Cunninghame North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider raising the age at which alcohol can be purchased to 21 years.

Shona Robison: We are currently developing a new long-term strategic approach towards tackling alcohol misuse and, as part of this process, we are considering a number of options. We plan to publish our proposals for action on alcohol misuse for full public consultation before the summer.

Planning

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to introduce a community infrastructure levy or any similar measure.

Stewart Stevenson: Following the withdrawal by the UK Government of its proposals to introduce a planning gain supplement the Scottish Government is undertaking a review of the operation of the systems of planning agreements in Scotland. This review will aim to ensure that we have a system that strikes a balance between allowing the public to benefit from planning gain and facilitating development necessary to support sustainable economic growth in Scotland at a local and national level. We will present options for change in the summer.

Rail Network

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the construction of overbridges at Shawfair constitutes commencement of the Borders rail project.

Stewart Stevenson: The construction of the overbridges at Shawfair does not constitute the commencement of the Borders rail project.

  The overbridges are part of the plans and access road requirements to the Shawfair site for the residential, retail and commercial development proposals being promoted by Shawfair Development Limited.

Recycling

Tom McCabe (Hamilton South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it has in place to ensure that local authorities offer to recycle a variety of substances, not only paper.

Richard Lochhead: A wide variety of materials are accepted for recycling and composting across Scotland, including paper, cardboard, cans, glass bottles and jars, plastic bottles, textiles, waste electrical and electronic equipment, batteries and garden waste. Full information on recycling facilities across Scotland can be found on Waste Aware Scotland’s website.

Registers of Scotland

Joe FitzPatrick (Dundee West) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what goals it expects Registers of Scotland to achieve in 2008-09.

Jim Mather: Scottish ministers have set Registers of Scotland the financial goal of achieving a return of 10% on net capital employed over the three-year period ending 31 March 2009.

  In addition, the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland will shortly publish Registers of Scotland’s (RoS) 2008-13 Corporate Plan, which sets objectives to secure continuing performance improvements. In particular, as milestones for 2008-09, the keeper has set the following goals for the conduct of registrations and for customer service, which ministers endorse:

  
to reduce the standard production cost index by 1% for the three years ending 31 March 2009 compared with the three-year performance to 31 March 2008;
where it is in the Keeper’s power and is legally appropriate, to complete the recording and registration of:


  80% of Sasine writs within 20 working days; with the remainder to be completed within 40 working days;

  60% of Dealings with Whole within 30 working days; with the remainder to be completed within 100 working days, and

  70% of standard First Registration applications within 70 working days:

  as milestones in a three-year strategy to deal with older, complex casework, where it is in the Keeper’s power to do so and is legally appropriate, to:

  complete registration of 25,000 Transfers of Part cases, along with their consequential Dealings with Whole, and

  eliminate all pre-January 2006 First Registration casework.

  to achieve a registration accuracy rate of at least 98.5% for applications despatched during the previous 12 months;

  to continue to operate at Charter Mark standards by:

  
achieving a 98% rating for overall customer care in the annual customer satisfaction survey, and
processing 98% of all customer enquiries in compliance with RoS’s published response standards.

Roads

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the published cost estimates for the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route have been reduced through refinements in the detailed design of the preferred option and, if so, by how much and what the impact has been on the benefit-to-cost ratio.

Stewart Stevenson: The cost estimate for the scheme is £295 million to £395 million, with a benefit to cost ratio of approximately 5:1. This is based on the risks currently identified but we will continue to monitor this in light of prevailing tender prices for roads contracts.

Roads

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there have been any revised costings for the proposed Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route; if so, whether these show that there have been any financial savings from the original estimated costs and, if not, whether any revised costings will be produced and made available prior to the public local inquiry into the route.

Stewart Stevenson: The cost estimate for the scheme is £295 million to £395 million. This is based on the risks currently identified but we will continue to monitor this in light of prevailing tender prices for roads contracts.

Scottish Government

Bill Kidd (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what new arrangements the First Minister has put in place to develop and maintain the relationship between the Scottish Government and the Scottish Parliament following the election of the SNP minority administration in May 2007.

Bruce Crawford: The First Minister has appointed 14 Parliamentary Liaison Officers (PLOs), listed as follows, to play a role in contributing to the effective communication of the government’s policy within the Parliament to support Cabinet Secretaries. Parliamentary Liaison Officers are unpaid, not members of the government and are not, therefore, bound by Collective Responsibility.

  

 Portfolio
 Parliamentary Liaison Officer


 Office of the First Minister
Aileen CampbellKeith BrownAlasdair AllanChris Harvie 


 Deputy First Minister/Health and Wellbeing
Stuart McMillanIan McKee


 Education and Lifelong Learning
Christina McKelvieBob Doris


 Environment and Rural Affairs
Rob GibsonJamie Hepburn


 Justice
Nigel DonAngela Constance


 Finance and Sustainable Growth
Joe FitzpatrickShirley Ann Somerville

Scottish Government Policy

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it intends to publish its Infrastructure Investment Plan.

John Swinney: An Infrastructure Investment Plan which sets out the government’s intentions for investment in the fabric of Scotland will be published today and can be accessed on the Scottish Government Website at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/Recent .

  A copy of the document is also available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 45134).